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Sedgwick County Turning Away Same-Sex Marriage License Seekers

The Sedgwick County Courthouse is turning away same-sex couples who are seeking marriage licenses.

Kerry Wilks and Donna Ditrani, along with their minister, went to the Wichita courthouse yesterday. After the clerk refused to give them paperwork to get a marriage license, the couple said they would be happy to "join the cause" as plaintiffs in a lawsuit expected to be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, challenging the Kansas ban.

Aimee McCarter and Jennifer Kozushko say they're disappointed after being refused a license, although McCarter said they did not expect anything different. They walked away from the courthouse, holding hands.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has said in a statement that his office would deal with any litigation challenging the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage "as it may come."

Schmidt added until the Supreme Court decides the issue, the delay is "sure to generate more litigation and more uncertainty, both for defenders of traditional marriage and for same-sex couples."